Dyane Brown

Dyane Brown is an artist and art instructor working out of her Garden Studio in downtown Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada. Dyane has been fighting wireless smart meters for more than three years, and she is a member of the class action lawsuitcurrently underway against BC Hydro over health risks and other hazards of smart meters. When other residents of her condominium tower wanted to let the phone company put a cell tower on the roof, Dyane successfully organized opposition within her building, and the cell tower was defeated. Last summer, she travelled to Haida Gwaii (formerly known as the Queen Charlotte Islands) off the northern BC coastline in search of some remnant of the natural world where she could escape the reach of electro-pollution. Through her Haidi Gwaii series of paintings below, we too can return to the primordial forest.

Artist’s Statement:

“I am someone who has come to art in my later years. It is my way of being in the moment. It is my refuge. I live in downtown Nanaimo where parks, restaurants and even my condo building are full of Wi-Fi. I try to reduce my exposure. I have no cell phone, no DECT phone, no microwave oven, no smart meter myself. But I experience the effects of other peoples’ choices. Having had Graves Disease, an endocrine disorder, all of my adult life, I am conscious of long-term stress effects from non-visible sources. Looking for a place more free of EMF pollution, I travelled with my son last summer to Haida Gwaii, returning home to paint “Giants of The Forest”. For me, these trees represent strength, endurance and wisdom. In their presence, I feel peace. My body becomes less guarded, more open.

“I am always looking for ways I can be less harmful on this planet. Two years ago I gave up car ownership and joined the Nanaimo Carshare Co-op. I walk, take the bus or share a car. I have been a vegetarian now for 43 years. I buy local as much as I can and this year am finally achieving a productive garden. Living more simply is my goal.” ~Dyane Brown

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ROOTED [for Good], Pic #4: “Though the root thereof wax old in the earth, and the stock thereof die in the ground; Yet through the scent of water it will bud, and bring forth boughs like a plant.”
–Job 14:8-9.

ROOTED [in Harm & Evil, such as EMR, RFR, MWR, LFR]: “And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.”
–Matthew 3:10.

I especially liked the angle of the “Guardians” trees in Pic #1! They remind me of the one lonely huge tall-to-the-sky pine tree in our yard when we were kids. My most favorite thing was to lie down next to it, with head as close to the trunk’s bark as I could get, then let my eyes slowly travel up the tree higher & higher until, like a fireworks display, my eyes’ view would widen out to take in all the big branches at the top along with the white puffy clouds in the blue sky. Ahhhh! What a thrill! Then I would start over again from the bottom & do that “eyes climb” over & over again, lol! It was a blast, & your Guardians represent that perfect angle of sight from the bottom of the trunk! Bravo! Well done!

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re·fu·gi·um—An area that has escaped changes occurring elsewhere, thereby providing suitable habitat in which organisms can survive through a period of unfavorable conditions. [from Latin refugium, from refugere to flee away, from re- + fugere to escape]

Kim Goldberg is an award-winning writer in Nanaimo, British Columbia. She is the author of six books and more than 2,000 articles. Kim holds a degree in Biology from University of Oregon and is an avid birdwatcher and nature lover. Read more about Kim here. Email: goldberg@ncf.ca